Generally, a battery for a vehicle or a power storage apparatus for other applications adopts a battery package structure in which a plurality of batteries are connected in series and parallel so as to store and output high-output, high-capacity electrical energy.
In the battery package structure, a battery pack which is configured by connecting a plurality of battery modules to each other, and a battery management system (BMS), which controls and manages each of the battery modules, may be configured by various methods. For example, there may be a battery module structure which includes a plurality of lower battery managers measuring each battery module and a single upper controller controlling the plurality of lower battery managers.
In the battery module structure, the lower battery managers are connected to each of the battery modules to collect information on the corresponding battery modules. Further, the upper controller is connected to each of the lower battery managers to control and manage the battery pack, such that the upper controller may control and manage each of the battery modules using the lower battery managers.
The lower battery managers and the upper controller configure the battery management system, in which the battery management system collects battery state information, such as voltage, current, temperature, and state of charge of the battery pack and provides the collected battery state information to another controller inside/outside a vehicle to control the vehicle, charging, or the like.
Since the battery module structure may conveniently apply various battery requirements and may save costs, the battery module structure is highly likely to be applied in configuring the battery pack in the future.
Meanwhile, in the battery module structure, the upper controller needs to know how many individual components, i.e., lower modules, in which the battery modules are combined with the lower battery managers, are configured.
However, since information on the number of lower modules is stored in software of the upper controller in a fixed state according to the related art, the upper controller may not be suitable for a general purpose.
The software (SW) of the battery management system (BMS) is highly likely to be manufactured in the future in a platform structure which is independent of the number of lower modules so as to save costs.
Further, in the battery pack and the battery system to which the battery module structure is applied, the number of lower modules may be different, and therefore, the upper controller needs to directly recognize a change in the module configuration, but a general technique of recognizing the lower module has not yet been proposed.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.